cordless pump review

[MK]

I went out to Big Lake with BS this week for my first ever session on that lake. Wind was strong but gusty. We flew our big kites and regardless of the gusts it was fun to get out and play over a long lunch.

I used my latest air pump gadget. I was turned on to it by another kiter, Dan B, and happy I bought it. It was really nice not to have to pump - at all.

I own the $20 Coleman pumps, a Bravo BST, another chordless Black and Decker High Phase pump and subscribe to the health benefits of getting the blood circulating from pumping by hand. BUT, this little piece of equipment is sweet. My problems with the Coleman and BST are personal, I've lost the recharge chords.. (maybe I could blame my kids??). The high phase only pump takes too long.

This pump was $65 at Amazon and simply replaces all other chordless pumps. The built in car charger will keep it in play with me. The price is substantially less than the BST.

Benefits:
- pump time on a kite 5 minutes
- LED light for when it gets darker out
- Auto-shut off at desired PSI in High Phase
- Multiple uses - all my inflatable needs: bikes, car, boat tubes, kites
- Chordless
- 4hr Battery life
- Built in car charger (I can't loose it)

Drawbacks:
- Low Phase for quicker inflation doesn't have the Auto-shut off. Not a big deal, pumps as much as it can then air simply spills off with no concern of over inflation.
- You need to transition hoses from Low Phase (high volume air) to High Phase. BST does this automatically.
- I'd like a battery reserve - although I'd probably deplete that and want a reserve reserve

I searched for some reviews and will post them below. As always, somebody has had a bad experience and taking it upon themselves to have as many people possible feel their pain. I've used mine now for a few weeks and happy. Not sure how many kites I can pump in a row but will test that out. BST seemed to have about 3-4 kites worth.
http://youtu.be/QL-VEWIYnpM
another one here
http://youtu.be/u88g2TqyV2w

[Tom L]

Mike was it easy to adapt the B&D fittings for kite inflation. The high phase looks quite different. I have my BST set up with hose end adapter like a manual pump. My BST is about to go. Got 7 years of use out of it.

[Barry P]

Kevin O and I have the BTP12 DIGITAL pump. It's spendy but very nice. Will pump up my 14M in 2.5 minutes.

I got the NiMH battery for it in May and have inflated 14 kites (7,9,11,14,18, but mostly 14M) on two charges so far. Just recharged the last night. I also keep a small 4Ah lead acid battery in the pump bag as a backup I can switch to when the NiMH runs out of juice.

I swapped the original hose for a typical manual pump hose so I can use any of the normal kite nozzles.

http://waterstrider.com/kite-pumps.htm

[Tom L]

The BTP is another Scoprega pump. I think I'd buy another BST if I went with Scoprega. Mine has lasted for years. The B&D looks tempting due to the cheap price, although you get what you pay for.

[peterrib]

I've had my BST for 2 years and seems to be problem free short of having some trouble with a solid connection on the
charger plug. I had 3 old scuba tanks in my garage and decided to put them to use. Fill a kite in under a minute and can
get about 6-8 kites off a tank @ 3000 #. I leave it in the Jeep and use a 25' hose. Works fine at most of my launches. Still have to enlist an inline gauge, so I check with a hand pump at the end. Get the tanks filled locally for next to nuts so it makes sense to me. BST is always along for backup.
Peter

[JRN]

One other cheap alternative is the Ryobi. It is part of their rechargeable 18v. tool line. We already had their tool set including a charger & 2 batteries. I picked up their inflator for a mere $30. It has both high & low pressure hoses, but I've stopped using the low side entirely. Simply dial in the desired pressure, run lines, suit up, B S with other riders, check messages with the office, and by that time it is fully inflated. You also have the added bonus of pumping up bike tires, car tires, etc. Pros: 1/10 the price. Wide range of "APS." Cons: It is SLOW! Will only do the LE of 1 kite per charge.

[MK]

I thought this post might speak to a few of us. The fittings adapt seamlessly, no mods required. Can't count how many times I've pumped up at this point since the winds have been so favorable but no issues.

Because it was relatively cheap I'm kinda waiting for a shoe to drop. Not yet though. My back up for it currently is the students